Chemotaxis assays and other cell-activity assays that take less than six hours normally do not require sterile instruments, and ChemoTx® system instruments now in stock are not sterilized. If your application requires sterile instruments, your ChemoTx instrument components can be sterilized with ultraviolet lamps in a tissue-culture hood (a laminar flow hood with HEPA filters), using the following procedure:
- Working on a clean flat surface, peel the cover off the ChemoTx container as indicated on the label. Using the thumb and finger cutouts on the long sides, and touching only the edges, lift the clear plastic lid and microplate out of the container. Leave the framed filter in the container.
- Place the container and filter on a tray, set it under UV light in a tissue culture hood, and leave it long enough to kill all bacteria.
- Remove the tray and, touching only the frame, turn the framed filter over in the packing container. Touching only the edges of the components, place the microplate (well-side-up) and the clear plastic lid (top down) on the tray with the filter.
- Place the tray of components under the UV light to repeat the sterilization procedure.
- Having sterilized the components of the instrument, follow the ChemoTx system protocol to carry out your assay.